During the current financial year 2021-22, 99 lakh 35 thousand 193 saplings will be planted by the Forest and Climate Change Department under various schemes in the state. It will be planted in 187 km/13 thousand 905 hectare area. Along with this, a target of distribution of 2 crore 27 lakh saplings has also been set by the Forest Department during the current year. For the successful implementation of plantation program in the state, about 3 crore 89 lakh saplings of 284 species are currently available in all the 275 nurseries of the Forest Department.
Forest and Climate Change Minister Shri Mohammad Akbar reviewed in detail the tree plantation program in a virtual meeting from his residence office at Shankar Nagar in the capital today. Principal Secretary Forest Shri Manoj Pingua, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief of Forest Force Shri Rakesh Chaturvedi, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri Tapesh Jha and Chief Executive Officer of CAMPA Shri V.Srinivas Rao were present in the meeting. Apart from this, all the Chief Conservator of Forests and Divisional Forest Officer were also involved in the virtual meeting.
In the meeting, Forest Minister Shri Akbar inquired about the preparations for the entire forest circle and forest division wise tree plantation program and instructed all the Forest Divisional Officers to ensure implementation of the action plan in a time bound manner to make it successful. He also gave necessary instructions to all the DFOs for pre and post tree plantation videography so that the tree plantation work in the state could be properly evaluated. He directed to complete the videography work of pits prepared before the plantation work in all the forest divisions by June 10. He said that for its successful implementation, the work should be started expeditiously to reach the plants prepared from nursery and fertilizers etc. at the identified places of plantation. He directed to complete this work by June 15 under all circumstances. During this, he also gave necessary instructions regarding the measures to protect the plants planted by the roadside.
Forest Minister Shri Akbar, while reviewing further in the meeting, directed for better implementation of the government’s ambitious scheme ‘Chief Minister Tree Plantation Promotion Scheme’ in the state. He asked for the benefit of more and more people, Gram Panchayats and Joint Forest Management Committees under this important scheme. It is worth mentioning that under the Chief Minister’s Tree Plantation Promotion Scheme, farmers who have taken paddy crop in Kharif year 2020, if they plant trees in their fields instead of paddy crop, they will get 10 thousand rupees per acre per year for the next 3 years. Incentive will be given. Similarly, if commercial plantation will be done from the amount available with the Gram Panchayats, then in case of successful plantation after one year, the concerned Gram Panchayats will be given incentive at the rate of Rs.10 thousand per acre from the government. This will increase the income of Panchayats in future. Apart from this, if tree plantation is done on the revenue land on commercial basis from the amount available with Joint Forest Management Committees, then like Panchayat, incentive amount will be given to the concerned committee at the rate of 10 thousand rupees per acre after one year. The right to cut and sell the trees will be with the concerned committee.